Best Vault App for Photos on Android and iPhone
Your phone already has a vault: Locked Folder in Google Photos, Secure Folder on Samsung, Hidden album on iPhone. Vault apps can lose photos if removed.
Decide where the backup will live before you move a single photo. A vault keeps your pictures inside one app or one locked corner of the phone, and several makers say plainly that the pictures go if the app is removed or the phone is reset without a backup. That is true of the built-in vaults as well as the apps.
We read Google’s, Samsung’s and Apple’s support pages for the vaults that come with the phone, then went through the vault apps on Google Play and the App Store. For each app we noted what its listing says about encryption and about backup. We left out apps whose main selling point is disguise, such as the vaults dressed up as calculators.
What your phone already has
| Feature | Where | Lock | Backup, per the maker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locked Folder | Google Photos, on Android 6 or later and iOS 15 or later | The phone’s own screen lock | Optional. Without it, the items stay on that phone only. |
| Safe folder | Files by Google, on Android 8 or later | Its own PIN or pattern | None mentioned. Forget the PIN and the files cannot be opened. |
| Secure Folder | Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets | Its own PIN, password or pattern, plus fingerprint | No longer supported. Smart Switch can move it to a new Galaxy. |
| Private space | Android 15 or later | The screen lock or a separate one | None. It is not part of a device backup. |
| Hidden album | Photos on iPhone | Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode | Follows iCloud Photos if you use it |
| Locked and hidden apps | iPhone Home Screen | Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode | The lock stays on that iPhone and does not sync |
Google Photos Locked Folder
Open Google Photos, tap Collections, then Locked, and set it up. To move pictures in, select them and choose Move to Locked Folder from the More menu. Google’s help page says locked items leave the photo grid, search, albums and memories, and that other apps cannot reach them. It describes the folder as protected by Google Photos’ standard encryption practices.
There is no separate password. Anyone who can unlock the phone can open the folder. On an iPhone the same folder opens with Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode.
Backup is a switch you have to turn on. If you leave it off, Google says the items are lost when you uninstall Photos, clear its data or factory reset the phone. With backup on, they count towards your Google storage and appear in the Locked Folder on your other devices.
The old version of this article suggested Archive in Google Photos. Google’s page says archived items still show up in search, so Archive tidies and does not hide.
Files by Google Safe folder
For documents and downloads, open Files by Google, scroll to Collections and tap Safe folder. You set a PIN or a pattern, and the app’s listing says it can differ from the phone’s lock. Google’s warning is short: forget it and you cannot get at the files.
Samsung Secure Folder
Go to Settings, Security and privacy, More security settings, Secure Folder. It holds apps as well as files. From Gallery, touch and hold a picture, tap More, then Move to Secure Folder. You can hide the folder’s icon, and an Encrypt option inside adds what Samsung calls enhanced encryption.
Two things from Samsung’s support page matter. Turn on Reset with Samsung account during setup, because without it a forgotten passcode locks you out for good. And Samsung no longer supports backing Secure Folder up. Smart Switch can transfer it to a new Galaxy, and the folder cannot be opened from the web or a computer.
Android’s private space
Private space is a second, locked area of the phone under Settings, Security & privacy. It is built for apps, but files can go in too: open the space, tap Add, then Add files, and choose Move. Google says deleting the space deletes its apps and data with no backup, and that restoring the phone from a backup does not bring it back. A manufacturer can also switch the feature off. We cover it in more detail in our guide to hiding apps on Android.
iPhone: the Hidden album, locked apps and locked notes
In Photos, open a picture and choose Hide from its menu. It moves to the Hidden collection under Utilities. Apple says the Hidden and Recently Deleted collections are locked by default and open with Face ID, Touch ID or the passcode. To remove the album from view as well, go to Settings, Apps, Photos and turn off Show Hidden Album.
Apps can be locked too. Touch and hold an app’s icon and tap Require Face ID. The same menu offers Hide and Require Face ID, which moves a downloaded app to a Hidden folder at the bottom of App Library.
For a note or a scanned document, Notes can lock single notes with the device passcode or a custom password. Apple says that if you forget a custom password it cannot help you back in.
Vault apps compared
| App | Maker | Phones | On the stores | Encryption, per the listing | Backup, per the maker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keepsafe | Keepsafe | Android, iPhone | Free with ads, in-app purchases | Described as military-grade, with no detail | Private Cloud sync |
| LockMyPix | fourchars | Android, iPhone | Free with ads, in-app purchases | AES CTR on every file | Encrypted backup to your own Google Drive or iCloud, or a backup file |
| Photok | Leon Latsch | Android | Free, in-app purchases | AES-256, on the phone | Encrypted backups you create and restore. No cloud. |
| Private Photo Vault | Legendary Software Labs | Android, iPhone | Free with ads, in-app purchases | Described only as advanced | Cloud Vault, a paid feature |
| Folder Lock | NewSoftwares | Android, iPhone | Free with ads, in-app purchases | AES 256-bit | Cloud backup of the encrypted files |
| Vault | Wafer Co. | Android, iPhone | Free with ads, in-app purchases | Not stated on Google Play | Cloud Backup |
The apps in short
Keepsafe is on Google Play and the App Store. It locks with a PIN, a pattern or a fingerprint and syncs to its Private Cloud, so the same vault opens on another phone. The Android listing says the free Basic version includes cloud storage. Premium holds up to 10,000 items and removes the ads, and the App Store lists it at $9.99 a month or $23.99 a year.
LockMyPix makes encryption its whole pitch. Its listing says every file is encrypted with AES CTR, where other apps only hide them. Backup is described on the maker’s help pages: it goes to your own Google Drive on Android or iCloud on iPhone, still encrypted, or into a backup file you keep yourself.
Photok is the one to read about if you want nothing to leave the phone. The listing describes an open source app with no ads. Files are encrypted on the device with AES-256, and it can create and restore encrypted backups. It needs no cloud.
Private Photo Vault locks with a PIN, a pattern or a fingerprint. Its App Store listing explains the paid Cloud Vault well. It is encrypted with a password that never reaches the company’s servers, so its staff cannot see your photos, and neither can you if you forget it. The same listing says the free version makes no backup.
Folder Lock goes beyond photos. It takes documents, notes, audio and wallet cards, and the Google Play listing gives AES 256-bit encryption. The iPhone version says it backs up and syncs through Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox.
Vault is listed under Wafer Co. on Google Play and NQ Mobile on the App Store. It hides photos and videos behind a password and adds an app lock and a private browser. The Android listing says nothing about how files are encrypted. The password can be reset only if you set a security email first.
Before a vault holds your only copy
These warnings come from the makers themselves:
- Keepsafe: its help pages say anything not yet synced is permanently lost when the app is uninstalled.
- Private Photo Vault: the free version does not back up to Cloud Vault, and the listing tells you to make your own backups.
- LockMyPix: after a phone reset, a backup file or cloud backup is required.
- Vault: the listing warns that cleaning apps can delete the folder where it keeps your pictures.
- Gallery Lock, from the old version of this article: photos are lost if you uninstall or factory reset without unhiding them first.
Assume the same of any vault app that says nothing on the subject. Turn on the backup the app offers, or keep a second copy somewhere you control, before you delete the originals. Move everything out again before you uninstall the app, reset the phone or change phones.
Passwords are the other way to lose a vault. Several of these lock you out for good if you forget one, so write it down somewhere safe.
Which one to pick
- Any Android phone: Locked Folder in Google Photos, with its backup switched on.
- A Samsung Galaxy: Secure Folder, if you want apps and files locked away as well. Remember it has no cloud backup.
- An iPhone: the Hidden album, and a lock on any app you like. Neither needs an install.
- Encrypted files that never leave the phone: Photok, on Android.
- An encrypted vault backed up to your own cloud account: LockMyPix.
- One vault across an Android phone and an iPhone: Keepsafe.
- Documents and cards as well as photos: Folder Lock.
What happened to the old list
Keepsafe is the only app from the 2020 list in the table above. AppLock, which we listed as AppLock by DoMobile, is still on Google Play with PIPS Tech named as the developer. It is an app lock with a photo vault inside, free with ads and in-app purchases. Gallery Lock from Morrison Software is still there too, free with ads.
Best Secret Folder is still on the App Store from RV AppStudios. Its listing leads on how hard the icon is to notice, which is the kind of pitch we have left out. We could not match Lock Photos Photo Secret Vault to a listing with confidence.
The last two entries were phone features. The iPhone’s Hidden album had no lock when that article was written, and now it does. Archive in Google Photos has been overtaken by Locked Folder.
Quick answers
What is the best vault app for Android?
Start with Locked Folder in Google Photos and turn its backup on. Photok and LockMyPix are the apps whose listings describe real file encryption.
What is the best vault app for iPhone?
The Hidden album in Photos, which locks with Face ID. Keepsafe is the choice if you want the same vault on an Android phone too.
Are photo vault apps safe?
It depends on the app. Look in the listing for a named encryption method and a backup you control. An app that only hides files behind a PIN protects them from someone flicking through your phone and little else.
What happens to my photos if I delete a vault app?
Often they go with it. Keepsafe and Google’s Locked Folder both warn that items not backed up are lost when the app is removed. Gallery Lock says the same of photos left hidden.
What if I forget the vault password?
It varies. Vault needs a security email set beforehand, and Samsung’s Secure Folder needs Reset with Samsung account switched on. Google’s Safe folder cannot be opened without its PIN.
